


Small Steps

by piggybackride (mssileas)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Disability, Dogs, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, modern!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 05:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15811887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mssileas/pseuds/piggybackride
Summary: Jamie's falling head over heels for his new neighbor. Quite literally.Written for theWeekly Roadrat Assignment Prompt!Week Fourteen:"Don't bite!"





	Small Steps

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, it's me again, I'm back with another AU because I have no self-restraint :)
> 
> This is dedicated to my doggy and all of your doggies because I love them, give them some big smooches <3

Jamie took a deep breath when he stepped outside and closed the door behind him, keeping a grip on the knob while he tried to steady himself. It was maybe ten steps from the front door to the mailbox, a distance which months ago he hadn’t even actively acknowledged. Now that he had to balance his two meter tall, lanky body on a prosthetic leg, ten steps could as well be a marathon. 

_One foot after another_ , Jamie tried to remind himself of the physical therapists words. _Take as long as you need to, nevermind if people are watching, focus on yourself_. That was easier said than done, but if he ever wanted to walk without the crutch again, what choice did he have? 

With a long exhale, Jamie finally let go of the doorknob and pushed himself forward - it was awkward and uncomfortable, and his brain never seemed to grasp that the prostheses did not actually feel the same way as his natural leg had. It wasn’t the plastic foot that told him when it hit the ground, but his thigh when the pressure against his stump grew, and then he still had to balance it out, make sure he had placed his weight right before he took the next step. All of this while swallowing down bitter resentment and crippling despair over being reduced to _this_ \- five steps towards the mailbox and all he wanted to do was burn the prostheses, fling himself into bed and cry until he passed out and hopefully never woke up. Or if he did, somewhere where he had four functioning limbs instead of having to spend the remainder of his days walking like a giraffe with a seizure. 

Jamie blinked away the first burning tears, swallowing with clenched teeth as he tried to tell himself that the car had not just slowed down just to watch him struggle, he was just being paranoid. When he finally reached the mailbox, he felt sick and out of breath and not at all accomplished. _Be patient with yourself, today it’s ten steps, tomorrow it’s a hundred, and before you know it you’re back on track,_ his therapist’s voice echoed through Jamie’s head, but sometimes it just sounded mocking. He’d never be ‘back on track’ and if Jamie found out which doctor had decided to bring him back like this instead of just mercifully letting him bleed out and be done with it, he’d set their fucking house on fire. They could build themselves a new one, right, a prosthetic house or some shit, see if they found it a suitable replacement. 

He bit his lower lip, hard, in an attempt to not let himself be pulled into this black pit of negative spiraling thoughts, before he ended up taking to much of his pain meds, sleeping away the day in front of the TV once again. He was here, Jamie tried to tell himself, one step further than yesterday, and tomorrow he’d be one step further than today, even if he cursed everyone he knew, himself, fate, God and the universe every inch of the way. 

Jamie’s darkening thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a startled, deep bark and before he had a chance to react, a huge black shadow leapt across the lawn and _jumped_ at him. They went down in a tangle of limbs and fur, and Jamie heard himself make the most comical ‘oof’-sound as the breath was knocked from his lungs, catching his fall with his flesh hand that scraped against the pavement, while trying to fight off the furry attacker with the flailing stump of his arm. That seemed to do the trick, if only because the huge dog jumped back from the unfamiliar movement of only half an arm in confusion, still barking at Jamie from the safe distance of two steps away, as if to pin the blond in place. 

“Pig, get the fuck here!” a thunderous voice boomed, and just like that the dog snapped his head around and off he was. Jamie barely had the time to sort himself out, or to think about when the formerly empty neighbor property had apparently been sold to now house a hellhound and his owner, or if he had heard correctly that the beast listened to the name _Pig_ of all things, before a huge shadow loomed over him. “I am so sorry, he’s such an idiot dog. Fuck, are you okay?” 

Jamie absurdly thought he might be okay quicker if the stranger let his gravelly voice wash over him a bit longer, but he felt a bit too dizzy to use his tongue. He reached for the offered hand instead, feeling himself be pulled to his feet with more ease than he had anticipated, coming up face to face with.. a broad barrel chest. That was a new sensation, and Jamie was sure he looked rather dumbfounded when he actually had to tilt his head to look up in the man’s face. Usually, this went the other way around. 

Dark eyes under heavy brows furrowed in concern studied Jamie’s pale face. “Are you alright?”

Jamie nodded, taking in broad, round features in a tan face, the softest wrinkles just around the stranger’s eyes and the plentiful of silver in his black hair, bound together in a hasty ponytail. “Yeah, sure, don’t worry it looked like this before,” Jamie heard himself babble, weakly lifting what was left of his right arm. He never could help but make crude jokes about his own injury, but like most other people the man before him did not seem to know whether he really wanted to laugh about it or not. Jamie desperately wanted to sit down somewhere, but his legs felt like water and the way back seemed to stretch into eternity before him. 

“Can you just -” Jamie nodded towards the wooden bench right next to the front door. It was definitely easier to make the few steps when you could support your weight on a man with arms as thick as tree trunks - it made the whole embarrassment of falling flat on his ass and having to be escorted back to safety a bit easier to bear. Jamie had just found enough of his wits again to think of asking the stranger for a name, when the dog came trotting back across the lawn. It stopped within safe distance, and Jamie involuntarily flinched again when it barked at him. It didn’t sound threatening, but rather irritated and Jamie didn’t know what to make of that. 

“Pig, down!” As much as the dog obeyed physically, dropping to its stomach in the grass, it still growled and whined low in its throat, never taking its eyes off them. “Quit it, or you’ll have kennel arrest for a month!” 

Shaken as he felt, Jamie couldn’t help but grin weakly at the man’s tone, that sounded much like a parent disciplining their child. He was pretty sure the kennel arrest was an empty threat, but the dog kept quiet after that, watching them with curiously perked up ears. 

Jamie sighed in relief when he finally plopped down on the bench. “Don’t think your hellhound likes me much, mate,” he observed, flashing the stranger a strained grin. By now he could make out that the ‘hellhound’ was actually a huge Rottweiler, a muscle-bound beast of easily fifty kilos, and that made him feel a bit better about having gotten knocked over. Jamie assumed that dog could take down grown adults with two working legs and call it fun.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” the older man said. “He’s a dumb fuck, probably got upset about the… the leg.” He made a vague gesture to Jamie’s prostheses, which made the blond snort. “I just adopted him a year ago, his last owner kept him on a chain in the backyard, so now he can barely tell his head from his ass. First time he saw a lady with a walker he almost pissed himself.” Jamie’s new neighbor shook his head, whether about his dog or its previous owner, Jamie could not tell. Maybe both. 

“ ‘s cool, I get upset about the leg thing too, can’t blame him,” Jamie tried to joke, but it sounded too close to the truth even to his own ears. Way to overshare with a stranger. “I’m Jamie, by the way,” he said, to steer the conversation into somewhat less uncomfortable waters. 

“Mako,” the older man introduced himself, and Jamie thought that just as nice as his rumbling voice and his larger-than-should-be-legal stature. Maybe he had cracked his head on the pavement too and just hadn’t noticed. “You mind if I bring him over? He’s usually three treats away from being your friend, in your case maybe four.” On cue, Mako dug into one of the deep pockets of his overall - Jamie wanted to ask if Mako minded if he just slipped into them, snuggled up against his belly like a baby roo in the pouch, stupid wonky brain - and retrieved some crumbled up dog biscuits. The Rottweiler lifted its head, curiously sniffing into the air, obviously awaiting a command. The thick tail thumped against the ground in anticipation.

Jamie had to smile at that - if he wasn’t barking or growling in irritation, the dog was actually cute, all teddy bear eyes with a big round head and huge paws. “Yeah sure, just make sure he eats the biscuits and not me,” he grinned. 

“Don’t worry, I already fed him a toddler and a small dog this morning, he’s fine ‘til noon,” Mako said, the irony delivered with such a flat voice it was barely detectable as such, and now Jamie had to snicker at that. “Pig, c’mere.” The Rottweiler would have leapt from his lying position into a full sprint at once, but Mako reigned him in with a single hand gesture. “Gentle!” he commanded, and for a second Jamie wondered why he thought that order would work on a fifty kilo dog - but the beast actually slowed down, ducking its head now as it slunk closer. It still seemed as curious about Jamie as it was confused about the clunky prosthetic leg, unable to decide between friendly wagging its tail and wanting to bark at the unknown appendage. Jamie couldn’t help but laugh weakly when he could watch the bark physically build up and being released only as a hesitating huff and a ‘boof’-sound. 

“Come here you weirdo dog, I don’t bite if you don't,” Jamie said, taking a few of the treats from Mako and offering them up on his flat palm. Greed outweighed a dog’s apprehension nine out of ten times, and this morning it was no different. Even trying to be gentle, as commanded, Jamie could feel the strength of the animal at once as it pushed its snout into his hand, devouring the biscuits in a slobbery frenzy, licking his fingers clean of any crumbs and finally sniffing at him curiously. Its ears perked up again when Jamie moved the prostheses a bit, but some more treats and a close-up inspection of the fake leg determined it was, in fact, not a threat and could be ignored in favor of letting Jamie scratch the big head. 

“Oh so you’re a good boy after all, aren’t you, Piggy?” Jamie smiled, ruffling the fur on the dog’s thick neck. “What’s up with the name, anyway?” he finally had to ask, and Mako huffed out a short laugh. 

“I’ll show you,” he said, calling the dog back to his heel who obeyed a bit hesitatingly - after all, Jamie could have more treats for him! But he panted happily enough when Mako petted him with a hand so broad it dwarfed the Rottweiler down to the size of a lap dog, and didn’t object at all even when the man put both his hands on either side of its face - and carefully squished them together. “There. Pigface. Pig for short.”

Jamie broke into laughter so loud his own eyes widened in surprise, so unfamiliar had the sound become to him in the last months. But scrunched up like this, the Rottweiler _did_ look a bit like he had a pig’s snout, plus it was utterly adorable how he just held still for Mako to do as he wished, knowing that his owner wouldn’t ever harm him, huge and strong as he was. 

“He used to be called ‘Sid’, but I always found it dumb to call him like some dead junkie, and he listens to the nickname just as well.”

“That’s fuckin’ adorable, mate. Can’t even be mad when a dog called ‘Pig’ runs you over,” Jamie chuckled, beckoning the Rottweiler closer again. He was quite hairy and slobbery, but there was something comforting about the weight of his huge head too when it nuzzled into Jamie’s touch. 

“Yeah, still, I’m really sorry ‘bout that, I should’ve watched out better.”

Jamie just shrugged. “Don’t worry, that happens sometimes even without someone giving me a push. Still just gettin’ used to this thing, too, only difference is no one gives me treats for it,” he explained to Mako, while stubbornly looking at the dog though. “Never made it any farther than the mailbox, but y’know, baby steps ‘n all that crap.” He really tried not to sound bitter about it, but he assumed it would be a while until he mastered that, too. 

“Now that’s bullshit, everyone knows you need to train with rewards. Proper rewards, not some philosophical long-term goal.” Mako frowned for a second. “So here’s a suggestion -”

-

A week later, Jamie still struggled on his prosthetic leg - but the walk down the driveway was no longer the torturous, soul-sucking affair it had been before. Pig peacefully trotted along next to him, seemingly cheering Jamie on with his mouth open in what looked like a smile, panting away softly. And instead of walking back to his own house, Jamie followed the dog to Mako’s porch, where the older man would wait with breakfast for both of them and a chewy rawhide treat for Pig. Jamie knew that the table full of tea and pastries was meant as his ‘reward’, but if he went there as much for a full belly to start the day with as for Mako’s company to bask in his calm, assertive presence and watch his dark eyes disappear between chubby cheeks and fine wrinkles whenever he laughed, well, no one but Jamie had to know that.

**Author's Note:**

> tbc maybe
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> Feedback is highly appreciated, you can also follow me on [tumblr](https://piggyofoz.tumblr.com/)! (NSFW tumblr version [here](https://piggyofoz-nsfw.tumblr.com/).)  
> Thanks for reading. :)


End file.
